Beach Boys and Deck Hands

Brian Wilson (1942-  ) is the author of today's cryptoquote:

"Beware the lollipop of mediocrity. Lick it once and you'll suck forever."

We all know Brian Wilson as the leader of the Beach Boys and that he's had a very tumultuous life. He showed his musical abilities when he was a baby. His father, Murry, was often abusive to him. Brian didn't like performing on stage and often had anxiety attacks. Eventually, he lost control of the group because of substance-abuse and mental-health issues. He fell in with controversial therapist Eugene Landy. We all know how that turned out. Brian, however, put all his demons behind him and made a comeback. Matthew and I had the pleasure of seeing him last month at the Highline Ballroom. Read my post here: http://adventuresofapuzzlechick.blogspot.com/2011/06/lets-get-real.html. His daughters became famous (briefly) for their sappy band, Wilson Phillips. Now his daughter Carnie may be homeless soon (http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/43710034/ns/today-entertainment/).

Here is Brian's official site: http://www.brianwilson.com/

The crossword puzzle theme for today is "On Deck" by Gail Grabowski. The theme answers:

20A: Military Bases (ARMY POSTS). There have been so many movies about the Army. My two favorite military comedies of all time are Private Benjamin and Stripes. In the former, the transformation of Goldie Hawn for spoiled Jewish princess to empowered woman was funny and touching. Here is my favorite scene from Stripes:

51A: Slow but steady progress (BABY STEPS). We all know the fable of The Tortoise and the Hare and its moral, "Slow but steady wins the race." Bugs Bunny in "Tortoise Beats Hare?" is priceless:

This is one of the few times that Bugs Bunny lost. Notice how the turtle sounds like Barney Rubble? That's because Mel Blanc provided the voice (along with his countless other characters).

28D: Scrabble and chess are played on these (GAME BOARDS). I love board games (although I don't like chess that much). Scrabble, Life, Monopoly, Checkers, Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Trivial Pursuit, you name it! I don't even think kids play board games any more unless it's on the computer. However, I did see my friend Sharyn play Candy Land with her daughter when we went to see her on Saturday. Here's one of my favorite retromercials for the game of Life:

11D: Trains' power source (THIRD RAIL). Ah, the source for many power failures and derailments. See this link for a brief history of the Third Rail. http://www33.brinkster.com/iiiii/inventions/3rdrail.asp.

It's also a song by the band Squeeze (one of my favorites):

Glenn Tilbrook was so gorgeous! Middle age has not been kind to him.

Sorry if I'm going off in tangents here, but it's Monday.

Till tomorrow.

Signing off,
The Puzzlechick

Let's Get Real!

Today's cryptoquote was a tough one! It's by Gustave Courbet (1819-1877):

"Fine art without knowledge is visible."

Courtesy of Wikipedia

Courbet was a French painter and one of the principle players in the Realist movement. His made bold social commentary in his work and his subjects often included peasants and the working conditions of the poor. Courbet's paintings brought about much criticism and commentary because they sometimes were considered crude and vulgar. Here is a self-portrait of the artist

Also, today is the first day that I'll be posting the Newsday puzzle solution. Today's puzzle is called "Self-Improvement" (by Gail Grabowski):

Doogie Houser has really grown up!

These are the theme answers:

20A: Observance before Easter: GOOD FRIDAY. Of course, this day marks the occasion where Jesus was crucified. It is the most solemn day on the Christian calendar and is a day of fasting.

40A: Inventor's Goal: BETTER MOUSETRAP. This isn't one of my favorite answers, but I guess it fits the grid and the theme.

56A: Autographed photo sentiment: BEST WISHES

We had a wonderful weekend. On Friday afternoon, we saw The Book of Mormon (http://www.bookofmormonbroadway.com/). It was probably one of the best musicals I ever saw and definitely the funniest! Although it is a parody of the Mormon religion, it does have a moral to its story. It deservedly won best musical at last night's Tony Awards. Speaking of the Tonys, I was surprised to hear that Daniel Radcliffe could actually sing! Neil Patrick Harris was superb as host once again! For a complete list of winners, link to http://www.tonyawards.com/en_US/nominees/index.html

Saturday afternoon, the boys went to see How to Succeed in Business. They don't understand how young Mr. Radcliffe could have been snubbed for a Tony Nomination. Matthew and Alex had a bit of drama of their own following the show. Alex fainted from dehydration and the guards gave him some water. He bounced back immediately and felt much better by Sunday morning. Meanwhile, I was getting frantic because they were meeting me at the Highline Ballroom for "Brian Wilson Reimagines Gershwin." Finally, Matthew showed up at 6:15 and told me what happened. We enjoyed Brian's set, which included Beach Boys classics and about 14 Gershwin standards. I was sad to see how much he's aged. They had to help him on and off the stage.

Yesterday, we went to the Renegade Craft Fair (http://www.renegadecraft.com) in Greenpoint. There were over 250 vendors! Lots of monster dolls, letterpress cards, and mustaches all over the place! I saw some cool Scrabble-tile pillows, but they were $32 each. I did want some birch-bark jewelry. I may order some online. We then went to the Austin Street Festival of the Arts. There wasn't much art this year but five yoga places and the usual fried food. Blah!

Clarence Clemons (the Big Man) had a stroke and his seriously ill. Prayers for his recovery!

I keep forgetting to post on the weekends, but they are jam-packed. I promise to be better!

Signing off for now,
The Puzzlechick